Editorial: Juvenile justice  more time to get it right

Monday

Mar 17, 2014 at 5:35 PMMar 17, 2014 at 5:35 PM

Another year. Another chance. That’s what a recent change in Massachusetts juvenile law gives 17-year-old offenders.The new law, passed in September, gives 17-year-olds juvenile status until they reach 18 — a move that now aligns Massachusetts law with federal law, which classifies a juvenile as someone under the age of 18. (See story in the news section, melrose.wickedlocal.com/news.)The change gives 17-year-olds a number of new opportunities to correct their mistakes and move forward with their lives, including:Avoiding an adult criminal record that would have followed themStaying eligible for juvenile guidance and help programs unavailable in the adult corrections system.Involving parents in the juvenile offender’s case — prior, parents weren’t informed of a 17-year-olds’ offenses because they were considered adults by the courts and the corrections system.Staying out of the adult prison system, a system that often drags youthful offenders deeper into the world of crime."They go into an adult prison and they’re learning to be better criminals, not better citizens," Rep. Brad Hill, R-Ipswich, said. "When you’re in with hard criminals, you’re in partnership with these adults and you’re learning bad things from them. In the juvenile system, you’re learning how to get off of drugs, how to get a GED."One key issue for Rep. Paul Brodeur, D-Melrose, was parental involvement."As a parent, it was important to me," Brodeur said. "You don’t ever imagine your kid will be in the situation where this becomes an issue, but should it happen, I want to know about it — I think I can make a difference."Both Hill and Brodeur helped shepherd the new juvenile justice law through the Legislature.At the same time, the law still gives prosecutors the leeway to charge juveniles as adults in particularly horrific crimes — as is the case with Philip Chism, who was 14 when he allegedly murdered and raped Danvers High School teacher Colleen Ritzer in October.Overall, legislators estimate 3,500 teenagers will be removed from the adult correction system and into the juvenile system annually."We hope that the state will have the ability to provide the necessary resources for the larger pool of people that will now be assigned to the juveniles court system," said Wayne Sampson, executive director for the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association.Hill said legislators checked with officials in the juvenile court system to make sure the influx of new offenders wouldn’t overburden the juvenile courts."Juvenile judges, people with the court system, all were in agreement that we should be doing this. They said they could handle the new responsibility with no issues," said Hill.The new law gives the state a chance to reduce its prison population — Essex County is at 239 percent of prison capacity and state spending on prisons, probation and parole increased from $907.8 million in 2003 to $1.21 billion in 2012, up 33 percent, up 33 percent according to a 2013 report, "Crime, Cost and Consequences: Is it Time to Get Smart on Crime?"At the individual and family level, the new laws gives 17-year-olds a chance to recover from a youthful mistake and avoid compounding it through their adult lives. It gives families a chance to step in and help. It gives state an opportunity to offer education and career opportunities instead of an advanced degree in crime. The chance is there.Now, it’s up to the individual, the family and the state to take advantage of it.